Circular No. 96/1997/TT-BTC guiding the collection and payment of fees for mineral exploitation permits

CIRCULAR
Guidelines for the Collection and Payment of Fees for Issuing Mineral Exploration and Exploitation Licenses

Pursuant to Article 28 and Article 29 of Decree No. 68/CP dated November 1, 1996, detailing the implementation of the Minerals Law;

Pursuant to Decision No. 276/CT dated July 28, 1992, of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister) on the unified management of various types of fees and charges;

The Ministry of Finance hereby provides guidelines for the collection and payment of fees for issuing mineral exploration and exploitation licenses as follows:

I. OBJECTS OF PAYMENT AND AMOUNTS COLLECTED

1. Objects of payment of fees:

Organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, permitted to engage in mineral activities under Article 15 of Decree No. 68/CP dated November 1, 1996, detailing the implementation of the Minerals Law, must pay the following types of fees:

a. Fees for issuing mineral exploration, surveying, extraction, and processing permits (hereinafter referred to collectively as mineral activity permits).

b. Exclusive exploration fees for permits with a term of 12 months or more.

1. Police agencies responsible for collecting fees shall:

a. The amount of fees for issuing mineral activity permits is specified as follows:

In cases where the permit is reissued due to transfer or inheritance, the transferee or inheritor must pay the fee.

b. The amount of exclusive exploration fees for permits with a term of 12 months or more is specified as follows:

The amount of exclusive exploration fees payable for each permit shall be calculated based on the area and duration stated on the permit. For simplicity in calculating the fees, permits with a term exceeding one year are determined as follows:

Permits with a term of 12 months are calculated according to the first-year rate.

Permits with a term over 12 but less than 24 months:

The first 12 months are calculated according to the first-year rate

The remaining months are calculated according to the second-year rate, but if the permit has a term of less than 18 months (remaining six months or less), it is calculated at half the annual rate, and if the term exceeds 18 months (remaining more than six months), it is calculated at the full annual rate, corresponding to the area stated on the permit.

Example: Company A (domestic) was issued an exclusive mineral exploration permit, covering an area of 3.5 km2, with a term of 18 months. The amount of fees payable is determined as follows:

First-year fee: 200,000 VND x 3.5 km2 = 700,000 VND

Second-year fee (six months calculated at half the second-year rate):

= 525,000 VND

The total fee that Company A must pay for this permit will be 1,225,000 VND (700,000 + 525,000).

In cases where the exclusive exploration permit has a term of less than 12 months, but subsequently requests and obtains renewal, with the total term (new issuance and renewal) being 12 months or more, the fee must be paid according to the rates specified above.

c. Apart from the rates specified above, the authority issuing mineral activity permits may not collect any additional fees or charges from organizations or individuals applying for mineral activity permits.

d. Fees for issuing mineral activity permits are collected in Vietnamese Dong. Where the specified rate is in US Dollars (USD), it shall be converted based on the actual average exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of fee collection. If the payer wishes to pay in foreign currency, they may pay in USD according to the specified rate.

đ. When market prices fluctuate by 20% or more, the Ministry of Finance will adjust the rates accordingly.

1. Police agencies collecting fees (referred to collectively as collection agencies) shall be responsible for:

1. Fee Collectors:

State agencies authorized to issue the types of mineral activity permits stipulated in Article 9 of Decree No. 68/CP dated November 1, 1996, shall organize the collection of fees in accordance with these Guidelines (hereinafter referred to as the collecting agency). The collecting agency shall be responsible for:

Registering and declaring to the local tax authority regarding the collection, payment of state management fees for mineral activities;

Collecting fees in accordance with these Guidelines before issuing mineral activity permits. Upon receipt of payment, a receipt for the fee must be issued to the payer, which is a type of receipt issued by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation);

Maintaining accounting records to track the collection, payment, and use of the collected fees in accordance with state regulations; at the end of the year, settling the results of the collection, payment, and use of the fees for mineral activity permits with the tax authority and the financial department at the same level within 45 days from the end of the year.

2. Procedures for Depositing into the State Budget and Managing the Use of Fees:

a. Deposit into the State Budget:

Before the 5th day of each month, the collecting agency shall declare the amount of fees collected for mineral activity permits of the previous month to the directly managing tax authority according to the form prescribed by the tax authority.

Within five days from the date of receiving the declaration from the collecting agency, the tax authority must review, calculate, and notify the collecting agency to deposit 80% of the total collected fees into the state budget during the period. The notification of the tax authority must clearly specify the amount of fees to be deposited, the deadline, and the corresponding chapter, category, clause, item 048, sub-item 01, and the item in the state budget.

The fee collecting agency must deposit the fees into the state budget according to the amount and deadline specified in the tax authority's notification.

b. The agency directly collecting state management fees for mineral activities may temporarily retain 20% of the fees collected during the period (including foreign currency converted to Vietnamese Dong) to cover regular expenses for organizing the collection of fees, including the following items:

+ Printing (or purchasing) application forms, declarations, files, books, and mining permits.

+ Paying wages, allowances, social insurance, and health insurance for outsourced personnel conducting reviews of permit application files, conditions for issuing mineral activity permits, and expert reviews of project proposals (if any).

+ Pay remuneration to specialized staff responsible for issuing permits and collecting fees for working outside regular government hours (if necessary) according to the State regulations.

+ Other regular expenses directly related to organizing the collection of fees for mineral activity permits.

Payment of remuneration for overtime work by staff must be based on attendance records for overtime work and payroll settlement lists for overtime pay, which must be signed off by the employees. All expenses must be supported by reasonable and valid payment vouchers in accordance with State regulations.

The entire amount of fees temporarily withheld (20%) mentioned herein shall be used for the intended purpose by the collecting agency. At year-end, if the funds have not been fully expended, the remaining amount must be deposited into the State budget according to the procedures specified in subpoint a of this point.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Organizations and individuals subject to fee payments and agencies responsible for collecting fees for mineral activities shall be responsible for collecting and paying fees in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. Any violation will result in administrative penalties as prescribed by the Government's regulations on administrative sanctions in the field of taxation.

2. The Tax Authority shall be responsible for inspecting and urging agencies issuing mineral activity permits to implement the system of fee collection and payment; managing and using receipt forms for fee collection, and maintaining accounting books and vouchers in accordance with the prescribed regulations.

3. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature. All previous regulations concerning State management fees in mineral activities that conflict with the provisions of this Circular are hereby abolished.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, agencies are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution./.